Volume 3, Issue 2
May 2011

Letter from the Editor

Welcome to the May 2011 issue of Transnational Literature. In this issue we continue the tradition of publishing a broad range of articles, creative writing and reviews from around the world, with contributors from some 14 countries. Two articles on Japanese fiction provide something of a departure, with others on Indian writers (including an interview with Lakshmi Raj Sharma), on world literature in English, and an essay by novelist and academic Nicholas Jose on Randolph Stow. There is also a more reflective piece on the nature of criticism from US academic Robert Tally Jr.

Along with many fine Australian contributions to the creative writing section of this issue, there is a strong representation from South Asia and Europe, including both residents and expatriates, and covering many aspects of modern life, from the political to the deeply personal.

More than three dozen book reviews once again affirm the journal’s commitment to participating in the English-language world’s cultural and intellectual conversation, with creative and life writing well represented among the subjects, covering a variety of formats, including video and electronic books as well as the well-loved codex.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the peer reviewers who give their time and expertise so generously. Without their necessarily anonymous contribution, the journal would not be able to maintain the high standard of scholarship so important in today’s academic climate. I would also like to welcome Dr Robert Lumsden to the journal’s Editorial Board. Robert has proved an invaluable sounding board for me since the journal’s inception in 2008 and this public acknowledgement of his role is long overdue. I’m also delighted to report that Debra Zott has taken up the position of Poetry Editor.